Iranian refuge guilty of trying to set fire to man

AN IRANIAN refugee tried to set fire to a man in the Adelaide suburb of Norwood as a result of racism-related depression after September 11.

Kayvan Zarei, 30, of Marden, was found guilty of assault and endangering life in the District Court late last month after he tried to punch a woman and set fire to a witness outside the Norwood Centrelink office in 2006.

The East Torrens Messenger reports that the court heard Iranian-born Zarei, who migrated to Australia with his family in 1999, developed depression and a heroin addiction following a backlash against Muslims in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.